The Maelstom Chronicles
by AngelicDemonSlayer
Summary: Follow the exploits of two brothers as they try to start a new life in Ponyville each hiding for their own reasons. How hiding will become a little more challenging when Nightmare Moon Escapes her imprisonment on the Moon. What will the brothers do when one of them gets caught in the middle of it all.
1. Chapter 1

The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 1

Episode 0: Escape in the Night

A still set over the kingdom as the turn of the day approached. A deep slumber enveloped the citizens of the great equestrian city. For it was by the might of King Monsoon that his citizens of all types slept in peace: unicorns, pegasus, and earth ponies alike. But it was this might that made other nations tremble to try and oppose his rule or threaten his people. His might was only matched by the compassion of his queen, Aurora. As alicorns, they used their strength to govern and protect their kingdom.

Despite the peace within his realm, all was not calm. Monsoon's guards stood watch over his castle always alert and ready for any pony they might catch. His castle towered over his capital city as a symbol to the strength of the Storm Empire. His pegasus garbed in armor patrolled the walls and scanned the skies ready to give chance to any who might threaten their king. His unicorns roamed the halls searching for any pony who might seek to enter without the king's permission. A narrow beam of light stretched out from their horn bathing their armor in a gentle light. Their eyes were always searching using the light from their horns to illuminate the dark corners of the castle.

In spite of their diligence and loyalty to their king, a shadow moved through the castle. Its presence was erased. Even on the stone floor, its hoof falls were silent. The guards continued their patrols completely unaware of the figure's movements. A green magic enveloped a door handle and its hinges opening the door without a sound. The door closed back as the figure slipped through the crack. The emerald glow faded as a unicorn guard rounded a corner unaware of the shadow's action.

Confident in his stealth, the young alicorn lowered the hood of his black cloak. His pure white mane gleamed in the moonlight penetrating the room. His blue coat hidden under the cloak blended with the night sky. His emerald eyes shined with confidence and knowledge beyond his years. He spoke in a hushed tone,

"Light, I snuck you a couple of hay burgers." His words trailed off as he realized he spoke to an empty room. The sheets of the poster bed were untouched. The shelves were bare. All signs that any pony had slept in this room were gone save for a few lingering pieces of trash in the bin. An emerald light emanated from the young alicorn's horn as he searched the room. He found no trace of the pony he had come to see. He moved back over to the trash which was the only sign of life.

Two crumpled up scrolls laid in the bin. A green glow enveloped the scrolls as they lifted from the bin and straightened. They were letters of farewell. They were hastily written and unfinished, but the intention was clear. The young alicorn closed his eyes to use a different type of spell. His eyes snapped back open confident in his next move. He tucked the letters into his saddle bag under his cloak before slipping back into the corridor a shadow once more.

A young stallion stood alone in the stables. His dark grey wings fluttered as he struggled to secure his bags to a chariot. He shook the light grey hairs of his mane out of his eye as he gave one final tug on the rope. His yellow eyes inspected his work checking to make sure nothing was missing. As he finished his inspection a low voice whispered in ear,

"So where are you heading?" The young pegasus jumped in surprise latching onto the beam in the rafters. His surprise turned to annoyance as he recognized the alicorn who snuck up on him. He dropped from the rafters as he accosted his assailant in a hush tone,

"Hurricane, what are you doing here?" A moment of annoyance flashed in the alicorn's eyes at the sound of that name,

"I could ask you the same question, Lightning," the alicorn countered maintaining his composure and quite voice.

"I'm leaving. How did you find me so fast?"

"Tracking spell," Hurricane replied producing the scrolls. "you really should have emptied your trash. Any of father's unicorn guards could have easily used them to track you down." He returned the letters to his saddle bag before continuing, "So where are you heading?"

"Far away," Lightning muttered as he rechecked his work.

"I see that. But where are you going to go?"

"I have a cloud house set up in Ponyville," replied with growing annoyance.

"Ponyville?"

"It's an earth pony village outside of Canterlot."

"You're headed to Equestria. Does Princess Celestia know you're entering her kingdom? Does father know you're moving there? Does mother know you're leaving?" The pegasus paused at the mention of his mother.

"No pony knows I'm leaving," Lightning whispered, his annoyance replaced with a twinge of pain.

"Why are you going? You're a prince of the Storm Empire. You have everything."

"No, you have everything," he countered facing his brother. "You're the crown prince. Everypony loves you. Nopony likes me. The guards only protect me, because father orders them to. I'm a prisoner, not a prince. I'm going to Ponyville. Nopony will know me there. I can start fresh, so don't try to stop me." The young alicorn thought for a moment.

"I think it's a great idea," he finally said.

"Wait! What?" The young pegasus exclaimed. Lightning fully expected his brother no rat him out or at least try to stop him.

"In fact, I'm coming with you," he cheerfully put in before teleporting in a flash of green light. The pegasus was stun for a moment before hastily finishing securing his bag. Only two possible outcomes came to the pegasus' mind. His brother lied and went to get others to stop him. The other possibility was he was serious and would try to follow his younger brother. Neither possibility appealed to the young stallion. He had managed to strap himself to the front of the chariot when a flash of green light announced the older brother's return. To the pegasus' relief and annoyance, his brother was alone, but a suitcase laid at his hooves.

"So you're just seeing me there and coming right back?"

"Nope, I'm moving to Ponyville with you."

"You can't. You're the crown prince. Nopony will notice if I leave. Everypony will notice if you leave, and you have a lot of responsibilities."

"You're right that they'll notice my disappearance sooner than yours, but I don't have any real responsibilities. All I do around here is train and study all the time. I need a vacation."

"Tsh, father would give you a vacation if you asked."

"Yeah, to one of his secure locations under watch while everything I did was decided for me," Hurricane countered. "Believe it or not, you're not the only prisoner."

Being loved and admired by everypony and having other ponies wait on you day and night," Lightning sarcastically retorted. "Your shackles must be so heavy." His voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Isn't that the chariot I treated with gravity spells for towing large loads?" The young prince asked changing the subject.

"What if it is?"

"You've been planning this for some time," the alicorn commented. The wheels in his head began to rapidly spin.

"Yeah, I have, and you can't come. Nopony will miss me." He moved toward the exit.

"Come on. It's not like I'd be leaving any friends behind. Mother would miss me. She would miss both of us." Lightning paused at the mention of his mother. "Father would also bring you back just for the sake of his image. Do you really want to do this?"

"Yes," he simply said and raised his wings to take off.

"Then we should use an escaped plan that will actually work." Before Lightning could respond, the young alicorn unstrapped his brother and moved the chariot to the back to the stables with his magic. He zapped one of the bags, and the others were sucked into the one that was zapped without showing any sign of bulging. The young prince tossed the stuffed bag at his younger brother and threw his cloak over the chariot. The chariot vanished from view blending into its surroundings. "Grab your bag and hurry," he instructed dashing out with own bag in his mouth.

The younger brother paused for a moment confused. Unable to spot the chariot, he grabbed his own bag and gave pursuit. To his surprise, the bag was fairly light. He exited the stables and was almost immediately pulled into a side aisle. He vanished into the shadow just as a unicorn guard walked by narrowly missing seeing the young prince. The guard continued on unaware of the movement of the princes.

The young alicorn poked his head around the corner after the guard was gone his hoof clamped firmly over his brother's mouth. Lightning prided the hoof from his mouth and gasped for air. In a hushed tone he accosted his brother,

"I couldn't breathe."

"I know. You breathe so loud the guard would have heard you. Let's go." Hurricane dropped his brother and raced down the halls with the young pegasus on his heels. They slipped from shadow to shadow avoiding the guards and keeping them unaware of their movements. They neared the wall and dove over it between two guards. One guard moved back inspecting the streets beyond the wall. Sure no pony was there, he continued his patrol. Having avoided the gaze of the guards, the brothers flew through the side streets at high speed. They nimbly navigated the winding streets flying in perfect sync. The young alicorn landed in the shadows near the train station.

"What are we doing here?"

"Making our escape," the young prince said running a hoof through his mane. His horn seemed to vanish. "Where did you say that cloud house was?"

"Ponyville, but what difference…," his question trailed off as his brother trotted over to the counter not listening. He returned with two train tickets and shoved one at his little brother.

"Come on. The train is about to leave," Hurricane instructed. The young pegasus gave a heavy sigh and boarded the train behind his brother. As the train began to pull away from the station, the older brother gave a sigh of relief. Tension seemed to drain from every pore. "Perfect," he simply said relaxing in his seat.

"So what was the purpose of all that?" His stomach rumbled adding to his annoyance.

"Here," Hurricane said giving him a hay burger from his saddle bag. "I was trying to bring them to you anyway."

"Thanks," Lightning replied taking the burger, "so?"

"To make sure we got away and give us a head start. I believe it's about mid-night. We should have about five to eight hours before anypony realizes I'm gone. It should take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years for them to find us if we're lucky."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" The young pegasus asked starting on the second hay burger his brother produced.

"Well prime minister High Strung should be trying to wake me up in five hours to give me my daily schedule. His nose is so far in the air, he might not notice I'm gone. General Steel Hoof might notice when I don't show up for morning training. However, he also has to manage his troops, so he might forget about me. But Professor Hard Knots will notice when I don't show up for my lessons. My room will be the last place they look."

"So why is it going to take a few months to a couple of years to find us?"

"I packed most of my stuff into my suitcase," he mentioned motioning toward his bag. "Everything else was treated with anti-tracking spells. When the tracking spells don't work, they'll search for clues. They should then find my note."

"You left a note."

"Chill, bro. The letter only mentioned my departure. Plus, it said I was going to Agranahay."

"But that's in Saddle Arabia."

"Exactly with the chariot hidden, they'll search everywhere on land and in the air from here to Agranahay looking in the opposite direction of us. It should take a while before they realize the note is a fake."

"And what was wrong with my plan?"

"The guards would have spotted you taking off, caught you, woke father, and in his annoyance at being woken would have put you under close watch. He'd never give you another chance to escape as long as he lived. You'd be lucky to see the light of day." Lightning couldn't deny his brother's logic. "Relax. We escaped. By the time they find me, you will be the last thing they think about for some time. Heck it we're gone long enough, father might forget about both of us and just try having a new heir."

"You're okay with that?"

"I'll miss mother, but it's too late now. All we can do is keep moving forward. Get some rest. We have a long ride to Equestria." There was a hint of sorrow in his words as he rested on one of the benches.

The young pegasus followed suit. He was free. His new life awaited him. As sleep over came him, he wondered if his new life would be any different with his brother's shadow still over him.


	2. Chapter 2

The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 2

Episode 0.5: New Arrivals

Light struck the young pegasus' face arousing him from his slumber. His confusion built at the movement of the ground. The memories of the previous day reminded him of where he was. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked around for his brother, but he was nowhere to be found. Lightning wondered if his brother had changed his mind and already got off. His joy was short lived as he spied his brother suitcase and saddle bag. Where was his brother then?

Hollers of joy drew Lightning's attention. He stuck his head out the window to find the young prince riding on the top of the train. Through the whipping winds, he yelled at the crazy stallion,

"What are you doing up there?"

"Morning, sun shine," he called back. "Come on up. This is awesome." His laughter was full of joy and was a little insane.

"How can you find that fun? We've flown faster than this."

"Yeah, but we've never run this fast." Lightning groaned at his brother's insanity.

"We're coming up on the station. Would you get down?"

"Oh fine, you party pooper," he finally relented. The young alicorn back flipped, dropped between the cars, and skid to a stop next to his brother. "Perfect four point landing," he congratulated himself. His victory was short lived. The train screeched to a stop sending the young prince tumbling forward. He landed with his face on the floor and his flank in the air.

"Yes, masterful performance," Lightning retorted walking pass his brother with his bag. Lightning left the train and immediately stepped off the platform. A pegasus mare ran up to greet him.

"You must be Lightning Rider," the mare beamed. Her snow white coat complimented her orange mane. "They said you would be hard to miss. Look for a grey pegasus. He'll have a storm cloud with blue lightning for a cutie mark."

"That is me, and you are?" He asked setting his bag down.

"Oh they sent me to greet you and show you to your new house. My name is Ginger Heart."

"Wow," the young alicorn exclaimed his horn hidden. Setting his bag down, he continued, "Been here less than a minute, and you've already made a new friend. And she's a cute mare too." Ginger blushed a little at the compliment. She cleared her throat before asking,

"So who's this?"

"This is my brother, Hurri…," Lightning began.

"I believe the words you are looking for are Storm Rider," the young prince corrected.

"The words I'm looking for I can't say, because there are foals around."

"Gettin' kind of tense, aren't ya?" Rider asked with a sly grin. Ginger giggled a little before interjecting,

"I thought you were arriving by chariot."

"There was a last minute change of plans," Lightning answered giving his brother an annoyed sideways glance.

"You really need to lighten up," the older brother commented. He put a hoof to his brother's snout and yelled, "Honk!" The alicorn giggled as he did it again. Ginger struggled not to laugh, but Lightning was not amused. Ginger managed to contain herself before continuing,

"Well then, I guess I'm welcoming both of you to Ponyville. If you will please follow me," she instructed leading the brothers as they collected their bags, "Ponyville was founded by earth ponies. Even so, all three races live here in harmony. The pony family who helped start it still has a farm outside of town. Sweet Apple Acres has some of the best apples in all of Equestria."

"Wait. You don't mean the same Sweet Apple Acres famed for their zap apples, do you?" Rider asked.

"One and the same," Ginger proudly answered.

"Sweet, I haven't had zap apple jam in a long time. We have to get some."

"That does sound pretty good," Lightning agreed.

"I'm afraid zap apple season isn't for a couple more months," Ginger told them. "Granny Smith usually makes a lot. If you don't get any straight from the farm, Filthy Rich always has a few in some of his stores."

Storm Rider didn't hear much more of what Ginger Heart said. The sound of high speed maneuvers assaulted his ears. He stopped to listen as the others moved on. The young prince set down his bag and trained his ears to find the speedster. The others stopped and asked if everything was okay. Rider turned his head in time to see a blue blur right before it crashed into him. His world tumbled end over end before fading to black.

He had taken more than his fair share of hits, but he had to admit whatever had just hit him that really hurt. He groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. Rider's vision was filled by a rainbow of colors. His eyes focused to reveal that it was hair, hair in six different colors. A feminine moan alerted him to the weight on top of him. The alto voice told him it was female, and the direction it was coming from told Rider that it was her tail in his face. Storm Rider did his best to control himself in spite of this new information. He cleared his throat and calmly asked,

"Whoever is on top of me, would you be so kind as to get off?"

"Oops," she nervously laughed as the weight was lifted from Rider's back. "Sorry about that," she added. He stretched his front legs until Rider heard a couple of satisfying pops in his back. He also stretched out his wings until they too give him a couple more pops. As Rider relaxed and his wings folded back, he ran a hoof through his mane to make sure my horn was still hidden.

As Rider looked up, his eyes beheld a beautiful pegasus mare. Her coat glistened and was blue like the color of the clear sky. Her rainbow colored mane sparkled from the sunlight shining behind it. The mark on her flank was that of a cloud with a single multi-colored lightning bolt coming out of it. Her powerful wings moved in a steady rhythm to keep her aloft. Her reddish purple eyes and smug smile spoke of her great strength and confidence. He was captivated by her.

"You okay?" She asked. Rider shook his head violently to shake the stupor out of himself. He cleared my throat and regained his composure.

"I'm fine," Rider said casually as he moved back over to his bag. Lightning groaned and braced himself for the speech from the pompous prince. "So, do you crash into everypony like that, or am I just lucky?"

"Sorry about that," she apologized with a laugh as she flew over to join him while remaining in the air. "I was practicing one of my new moves that didn't really work."

"You don't say," Rider commented unimpressed.

"I got tickets to the Wonder Bolt derby next week, and I'm going to show them my stuff," she bragged.

"So you're going to interrupt one of their events to show them up. I'm sure they'll take that well."

"Well maybe not during, but they will see it. They even might make me a Wonder Bolt right there."

"Ah ha," Rider muttered still unimpressed. "You got a name to go with that ego?"

"Excuse me?" She asked a little annoyed.

"Here it comes," Lightning muttered under his breath.

"I'm just sayin' that's a pretty big ego for such a small pony," Rider added emphasizing the small part by hovering one of his hooves a few inches off the ground.

"Hey!" She screamed getting into Rider's face while staying in the air. "The name is Rainbow Dash, and I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria."

"More like Rainbow Smash," he coolly shot back.

"Who do you think you are?" She asked getting closer. Because Rider hadn't backed down or up for that matter, they were nose to nose.

"No one special," he simply answered.

"Really, because I think you're…wait. What?" Dash asked moving back. His answer had caught her and Lightning a little by surprise.

"Look. My brother and I just moved into town. We still have a lot to do, so we'll see you around."

"Oh, I see," she said landing in front of Rider on the other side of his suitcase. "I know that attitude. You're the best flyer from your home town and don't think anypony can beat you. Let's have a race, and I'll show you why I'm the best."

"Yeah, no thanks," he said uninterested.

"Alright," she said flying up, "we'll make three loops around town. Wait. What?"

"No thanks," he repeated. "I'm not interested."

"Oh, I get it," she said landing again. "You think because I'm a mare, I couldn't keep up."

"Actually, I just don't care," he corrected.

"Huh?" All three of them tilted their heads in confusion.

"You could be better than me," Rider clarified. "I could be better than you. It makes no difference to me." As he finished, he picked up his bag and began to walk away. Lightning was a little surprised to see his brother not try to prove his superiority.

"Oh, okay," Dash said a little sad with her wings drooping. Rider glanced back at the glum pegasus. She seemed honestly depressed he turned her down. With a sigh, he set his bag back down and asked,

"You really wanted to race, didn't you?"

"It's kind of what I do besides help with the weather," she answered still a little glum. She pawed at the dirt with her hoof. She seemed to just want to have a little fun with him. He did find her pretty cute.

"Look," Rider started, "my brother and I just moved in today, so we've still got a bit of unpacking to do. Give us a couple of days to settle in, and then we can have that race."

"Yeah!" She screamed instantly cheering up and taking to the sky, "you are going to eat my dust."

"Again, don't care," he reminded her.

"Who are you?" She asked with a laugh moving closer.

"No one special," he simply answered.

"Yeah. Yeah. I heard that, but what's your name?" She asked moving even closer.

"Just call me Storm Rider, or Rider for short, and that's my brother Lightning Rider, or Light for short."

"Sup," she said giving a slight wave to Lightning before turning her attention back to Storm Rider. "Okay, Storm Rider," she said turning around quick and smacking him in the nose with her rainbow colored tail, "I'll see you around." She took off at high speed. An actual rainbow trailed behind her. Rider whistled impressed.

"What was her name again?" He asked Ginger still looking where Rainbow Dash had taken off.

"Rainbow Dash," she answered.

"It fits. Oh this place is going to be fun. Now where were we on that tour?" Rider asked as he joined the others. Ginger continued her tour without any more incidents. It concluded with them arriving at the cloud house. "So who lives in the other one?" Rider asked motioning toward the other cloud house.

"Oh that's Rainbow Dash's," Ginger answered.

"You don't say."

"Well we're here," Lightning announced, "but I'm not sure where you're sleeping, Storm."

"This is a standard cloud house, right?" Rider asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's just you and me, and you're taking the bedroom upstairs, right?"

"Your point is?"

"Most clouds houses have a guest room on the first floor. Here it is," Rider announced opening one of the doors.

"Kind of small for you, isn't it?"

"This will do nicely. It's got a bed, a bookcase, a dresser, a closet, a desk, and plenty of walk space. It just needs a little reorganizing." He shooed the others out and closed the door. He reemerged a minute later, grabbed a foot stool, and returned to the room. Lightning noticed his brother had rearranged the furniture with his magic obviously. Rider placed the stool down, wiped off some off the top to make it shorter, and placed his suitcase on the stool. He was very careful on how he placed the suitcase. Taking the extra clumps of cloud, he walked back to the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Just watch," Rider instructed. He made two balls out of the clumps of cloud. He tossed them at the locks on his suitcase and slammed the door shut. A loud ruckus of multiple sounds went off in the room.

"What is going on in there?"

"Wait for it," he instructed. He waited for a certain sound and threw open the door yelling, "Ta-da!" Ginger and Lightning's wings and jaws dropped in surprise. Rider pulled a camera from his saddle bag, took a picture, and doubled over in laughter. "Oh those expressions are priceless."

"You decorated the whole room in one move," Ginger admired.

"You planned this, but how?" Lightning asked.

"Oh please," Rider said, "I do this all the time. Don't you remember the Thunder Bolt academy?"

"Oh yeah, I was wondering how you unpacked so fast."

"This is incredible," Ginger said in awe as she looked around the room, "even the books are alphabetized. You would get along well with Pinkie Pie."

"Who's Pinkie Pie?" Rider asked.

"Oh she's the resident party pony planner. She's a pink earth pony, but she does things that make you wonder if she knows magic. She's always making other ponies smile. How did you do this?"

"Let's just say I know some ponies that are very good at magic." Rider's stomach began to rumble. "I'm hungry. Time for grub," he announced as he walked to the edge of the cloud house and simply jumped off. Ginger and Lightning rushed to the edge. Rider plummeted to the ground. Ginger covered her eyes unable to watch. Before he hit the ground, a loud boom was heard as Rider flapped his wings. He landed lightly on his hind legs in a pose. He started laughing as he went back onto all fours and trotted into town. Ginger gave a sigh of relief.

"Show off," Lightning groaned. "I'd better follow him. There's no telling what he'll get into." Lightning took off in pursuit. As he neared the ground, he lost sight of Rider. "Where did he go?" Lightning trotted through town before spotting Rider coming out of a restaurant eating a hay burger.

"Oh that hit the spot," Rider said in satisfaction. Lightning ran up to his brother.

"Will you quit showing off."

"Oh lighten up. Have a hay burger," he said shoving an uneaten burger in his brother's mouth. "Ooh, what's that?" He exclaimed dashing off again. Lightning quickly scarfed down the burger and gave chase. Rider seemed to be everywhere running amuck. Lightning only caught brief glimpses of his brother at a time. The only time he caught up with him was outside Sugar Cube Corner, the local sweet shop.

"Are you insane?" Lightning asked. Rider placed his hooves close together. "A little bit," Lightning translated, "of course you are."

"Come on. It's a new town, a new country even. Where's your sense of adventure? Have a blue berry cupcake. It's your favorite," he said shoving the cupcake in his younger brother's mouth. "Ooh, what's that?" Rider took off again. Lightning had to force the cupcake down. Wiping the blue frosting from his mouth, he pursued his brother. After one too many near misses to catch his brother, Lightning screamed in rage,

"That's it!" He took off at high speed with a blue lightning bolt trailing behind him. He zoomed back to his cloud house. He threw the door open and yelled, "please tell me there's another place, anywhere."

"What's wrong with this place?" Ginger asked confused.

"I can't stand living with my brother any more."

"Well there is one place, but it's on the ground, and you'd be living with a unicorn."

"I'll take it."

"But what about this place?"

"He can have it." Lightning then added under his breath, "He gets everything anyway."

"Well okay. I'll show you to Colegate's." Lightning grabbed his bag and followed Ginger away from the cloud house. Storm Rider returned later with a big smile on his face.

"Honey, I'm home," he announced with a laugh. "This place is awesome. There are a lot of cute mares around here. I even found some chili peppers. They're supposed to be the hottest peppers anywhere. Light? Light?" It was then he realized he was talking to no one. He used his horn to quick scan the house. He was the only one there. He ventured upstairs to find Lightning's stuff gone. Returning down stairs, he checked his own room to confirm he was in the right house. One question lingered in his mind. Where could his brother have gone?


	3. Chapter 3

The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 3

Episode 0.8: A Rift Between Brothers

A knock at his front door awoke Storm Rider from his slumber. He yawned with a stretch.

"I wonder who that could be," he asked himself. He ran a hoof through his mane to hide his horn before opening the door. Being a cloud house, he expected it to be one of the other pegasus living in town. To his surprise, he found a pink earth pony riding in a hot air balloon. Her fluffy pink mane was a shade darker than her coat.

"Hello it's so nice to meet you. You must be new in town. I should know, because I know everypony in town. But I don't know who you are, so you must be new. If you're new, then you might not have made any friends yet. You could be my friend, because I'm friends with everypony in town. So do you want to friends?" Despite the high speed at which the mare spoke, Rider still understood her. He suppressed his laughter as he asked,

"You must be Pinkie Pie, am I right?"

"Are you psychic? You must be psychic, because you knew my name. But how could you know my name if we've never met before unless of course you were psychic. I've never met a real psychic before. That's so cool. I have a Pinkie sense, but that's only good for vague random events. Like this one time my tail twitched to let me know a potted plant was going to fall out of the sky. It nearly hit me in head. Is that what happened to you? Were you born a psychic or did you learn to become one or was it a tragic accident that while it gave you your powers threatened to drive you insane. So how'd you do it? How'd you do it?" Rider was fighting to keep from busting out laughing. With a tear in his eye he corrected,

"I'm not psychic. Ginger Heart just mentioned an earth pony like you, so I guessed."

"Wow! Good guess," Pinkie complimented. "So what's your name? Where you from? What brings you to Ponyville?"

"In this order, my name is Storm Rider. I moved here very far away, and it was my brother's idea to move to Ponyville."

"You have a brother. That's amazing. I don't have a brother. All I have is three sisters. We used to live together on a rock farm. So where is your brother?"

"That's a very good question. I haven't seen him since yesterday. I don't suppose you've seen him."

"Maybe, I did see a grey pegasus I had never seen before running around yesterday. I saw him fly back here really fast. He had this awesome blue lightning trail."

"That's him. That's my brother Lightning Rider. Any idea where he went?"

"Not really," Pinkie admitted. "I just saw him flying away with a white pegasus. I think it was Ginger Heart."

"Any idea where I can find her?"

"She works over at the veterinarian clinic. She's usually there."

"I'll go ask her. Maybe I can sort this whole thing out."

"He looked kind of mad. Maybe we should throw him a party. We could cheer him up and welcome both of you to Ponyville at the same time. We can have one this afternoon."

"Better hold that off until tomorrow. I have to find him first."

"That's a great idea," Pinkie exclaimed.

"It is?"

"Sure. The summer sun festival is in two days. We can have the party late, so we can stay up to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. We can also welcome you and your brother at the same time. It'll be a great way for you both to make lots of new friends."

"That's not a bad idea. Let's just hope I can find him in time. See you around," Rider said taking off in search of his brother.

A yellow pegasus soothed a white rabbit in the clinic. Her long pink mane framed her gentle face. Her voice was like silk.

"Now, Angel, you be a good little bunny and take your medicine." The rabbit stubbornly refused to take the medicine. "Oh but if you don't take your medicine, you won't get any better." The rabbit eyed the teaspoon, but continued to refuse the medicine. A voice whispered into the pegasus' ear,

"Stubborn little guy, isn't he?" The pegasus jumped in surprise. Rider chuckled before apologizing. "Sorry about that. I have that effect on a lot of ponies." The mare continued to slink away. "Are you okay?"

"That's just Fluttershy," Ginger commented entering from the back. "She's great with animals, but she's a little shy around other ponies."

"Oh well, let's see what we can do about this little guy." The rabbit held to its stubborn streak. "Hey what's that?" He asked pointing up. As the rabbit looked up, Rider jabbed the teaspoon of medicine in its mouth. The rabbit tried to spit it in Rider's face. Rider poked the rabbit behind his ear to make Angel involuntary swallow the medicine.

"How'd you do that?" Ginger asked amazed. Even Fluttershy was impressed.

"Pressure points," he told her, "works every time."

"I was wondering if you could tell me where Light is."

"Oh," she said a little unsure. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. He seemed pretty mad yesterday. What did you do?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Did he say anything?"

"Just that he wanted a different place." Ginger answered. "He did say you could have the house."

"But why? I need to find him and sort this out."

"Okay," Ginger relented as she gave him the address. "I just hope this doesn't make things worse."

"You and me both," Rider agreed. "Thanks, Ginger. See you around, Fluttershy."

"Uh, okay," Fluttershy answered in a small voice as Rider left.

Lightning struggled as he fought with his suitcase. One latch refused to come open. The bag itself wouldn't even crack open. As he struggled, a voice whispered in his ear,

"Having trouble?" Lightning jumped in surprise. One look told him who it was.

"Hurricane, what are you doing here?"

"My name is Storm Rider," Rider corrected. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You'd think my own bother would get it right especially now that we're away from home. I never did like that name."

"Fine, Rider. How did you fine me?"

"I asked. So why did you leave?"

"I couldn't stay. Being around you reminded me too much of home, the one I left. I need to be my own."

"You could have said something. I don't get why you're so mad."

"That's the whole point. You never understand, because everything is given to you," Lightning accused and continued to struggle with his bag.

"Let me get that," Rider said with a sigh.

"I can do it."

"Actually you can't. It's magically locked."

"Fine, I'll let Colegate unlock it when she gets back."

"Don't you think she might find it a little odd you have a magically locked suitcase. You also might want to lay off the high speed. That lightning streak of yours is pretty unmistakable. You need to keep a low profile is you don't want to be taken back."

"Says the stallion that was running amuck yesterday and showing off," Lightning countered.

"First off, I was just having fun. I wasn't trying to impress anypony. Second, a crazy pony is the last thing they would look for. Even with my description, the report would go to the bottom of the pile when it mentions a crazy hyper pegasus. They won't believe it's me."

"You got that right. I still don't believe it. So all of that was an act?"

"Actually that was the real me for a change. I got to be myself without worrying about how it would make father or his kingdom look."

"So, what about my bag?"

"You have a lot of stuff in it. It would have been bad if it opened at the wrong time."

"So why can't Colegate unlock it? She's a unicorn."

"Magical locks are not a simple spells. Not all unicorns can use them or undo them. There is a secondary route to undo them if you don't know which one was used, but mine are set up with puzzles. There is a good chance she can't undo it, or any other unicorn in this town."

"Fine, open it." Rider revealed his horn and zapped the latch. He ran a hoof through his mane to hide the horn again.

"You might want to open that from a distance."

"Why?" Lightning's question was answered as all his bags flew out and landed on him.

"Well there's that."

"Okay. You found me and open the suitcase. You can go now."

"I still don't get why you're so angry," Rider said with a sigh. "Look. I met that Pinkie Pie character Ginger mentioned. She's throwing us a welcome to Ponyville party tomorrow night."

"Haven't been here long and ponies are already throwing you parties."

"You're missing the point. It could be a good place for us to make some friends. You could use some. We both could. Besides the party was more for you anyway."

"I'll think about it." Lightning relented.

"I don't get why you left the house or home, but you're always welcome to come back, whether you believe it or not." Lightning didn't respond. With a sigh, Rider left his brother to unpack.

The good news was even if it they found him, they would be less likely to find Lightning now. He stopped by the apple stand to pick up some apples. He didn't feel like talking much, although he did find the orange mare that sold him the apples almost as captivating as Rainbow Dash. He surprised her when he bought two dozen from her.

With apples in tow, Rider didn't feel like going back to the house. It felt empty now. He spied the large tree in the middle of town he had seen the other day. It was a library. Curiosity compelled him to check it out. As he entered he was awe struck by the sheer volume of books on shelves carves out of the tree itself. Inspecting a few of the titles, he realized he hadn't read most of them.

"Anypony here?" Rider cried out. When no answer came, he used his horn to scan the tree. He was all alone again. The thought of being alone only made him feel lower. Feeling low it seemed only fitting he should do some reading in the roots. He grabbed a cluster of random books with his magic and headed down stairs. Among the roots, Rider found a bedroom not much bigger than his own and pretty much furnished the same way save for some book shelves cut out of the walls. He relaxed on the bed and started reading while eating the apples he just bought. Little did he know that by doing so, he had sealed his fate.


	4. Chapter 4

The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 4

Episode 1.6: The Frightful Introductions

A great noise awoke Storm Rider from his slumber. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His confusion mounted as he didn't recognize his surroundings. It took a moment for his memories to catch up with him. He had fallen asleep reading in a bedroom located in the roots of the tree library. Being underground, it was kind of hard to tell what time it was. He stuffed an apple in his mouth before running a hoof through his mane and heading back upstairs.

As he reached the first floor, he found most of the town in the tree having a party. He arrived just in time to see a purple unicorn's face turn beet red. Her purple eyes water as she nearly breathed fire. Her purple mane had two different streaks of pink near the center which whipped behind her as she ran upstairs to the loft. Storm Rider's eyes widen as he recognized the unicorn.

"Hot sauce," a little purple dragon read holding a bottle as Storm Rider approached. He had no wings and green round spines running down the length of his body. Pinkie Pie tipped the bottle over a cupcake drenching it in a red sauce. She gobbled the cupcake in one bite like it was nothing. Storm Rider poured a little on a cupcake and ate it. Noticing the cup he whispered to the little dragon,

"She didn't happen to drink this, did she?"

"Yeah, she did," Spike answered.

"Why don't you grab a glass of milk, a glass of ginger ale, and follow me upstairs?" Rider asked after thinking for a minute.

"Why?"

"Let me put it this way," he said in a calm voice. Rider then commanded in a stern voice, "Your friend needs a glass of milk and a glass of ginger ale, stat!" The little dragon rushed off almost in a panic. He began to ascend the steps as the little dragon caught up to him carrying the glasses. As they opened the door to the loft, they found the poor unicorn running around with tears in her eyes.

"Twilight," the little dragon cried in concern.

"Better leave this to me," Rider instructed.

"But…," the baby dragon tried to protest. Rider managed to get him to set the glasses down and shooed him out with his head. He easily butted Spike out the door. He shut the door behind the little guy and then turned back to the problem at hand. After a moment of thought, Storm Rider charged his horn and sent out a wave of green energy. The poor unicorn was frozen in place.

"Moving around like that is only going to make it worse," he told her walking up.

"I can't take it. It won't stop burning," she cried.

"Yeah, that's normal," he commented releasing her.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Twilight miserably said. Her face almost literally turned green. She tried to hold back the coming mess.

"Wait," he commanded grabbing an enclosed trash can with his magic. Rider placed it front of her and then instructed, "Okay go ahead." Twilight plunged her head into the bin and let loose the vile liquid. "That's it. Let it all out," he encouraged her while patting her back. She pulled her head from the bin still a little green. "All out?" Twilight weakly nodded. After thinking for minute, he summoned a glass of water. She scrambled to grab the glass. "Don't drink it."

"But I want the burning to stop," Twilight protested.

"Trust me. Water would only make it worse. Just use it to rinse your mouth out," he instructed. Twilight reluctantly did as he said. After she spit in the bin, Rider used a spell to clean the bin with a momentary look of disgust. He then brought over the glass of milk with his magic. "Drink this instead."

"What is it?"

"It's milk. Now drink it slowly." Twilight let the cool liquid slide down her throat. After finishing the glass, she plopped down with a sigh of relief. "Better?"

"The burn is gone, but my head really hurts," she whined covering her eyes with her hooves.

"Yeah, that's not good. Now how did that spell go? Oh, I remember," Rider said placing his horn near her head. A small emerald light emitted from the tip of his horn for a second. As the light faded, Twilight's whole body seemed to relax. Storm Rider picked her up with his magic and set her in the bed positioned above the bookcases next to the window. He proceeded up the stairs with the glass of ginger ale in tow. "Here, this will help settle your stomach," he said setting the glass on the stand next to the bed.

"Thanks, but how did you know that would work?"

"I eat a lot of spicy food. Most experience the burning sensation and stop at that. If it's too hot, they feel that and have a nose drip. Speaking of which, you may want this," Storm Rider said bringing a tissue box and a trash can near her.

"Thanks," Twilight said blowing her nose using her magic.

"Some experience a headache in addition when eating it, although, some ponies become unable to breath."

"Why would anypony make that?"

"Tolerance varies from pony to pony. What might be nothing to one pony might cause another pony to stop breathing. Milk is usually the best for killing the burn."

"What about this?" She asked holding up the ginger ale.

"I found it always helps to settle an upset stomach."

"Thanks but why did you help me?"

"That's part of what I wanted talk to you about, Twilight," he said locking the door with his magic. Rider sheepishly added unfolding his wings, "we've kind of already met."

"Prince Hurricane!" Twilight exclaimed scrambling to get in a kneeling position.

"Relax," Storm Rider commanded using his magic to force her to lay back down. "Look. Nopony knows I'm in town, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"My brother and I sort of ran away from home," he explained.

"But why would you run away and to Ponyville of all places?"

"It was actually my brother's idea. I just caught him as he was leaving and came with him. I still don't fully understand his reasons. But as for me, it seemed like a great chance to finally make some real friends."

"I don't understand."

"Every day I did nothing but train my body and study different kinds of magic. Those who weren't put off by my station were usually afraid of my father's shadow. I could barely get anypony to really talk to me. Even in a crowded room, I was all alone. I was more of a prisoner than a prince. Nopony would even use my real name. When my brother spoke of starting over, I thought maybe I could finally find some real friends, maybe even a very special some pony. So can you keep our secret?"

"Um sure, although, you didn't need to tell me. I'm leaving here as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Ponies around here are crazy. Too many keep going on about friendship."

"Is that really a bad thing?"

"What's the point? It's not like friendship could save Equestria from something horrible."

"Maybe, but I would at least like to try," Rider said running a hoof through his mane after unlocking the door. "If everypony thinks I'm a pegasus named Storm Rider, I at least have a chance."

"Fine," Twilight groaned. "I won't say anything about you or your brother."

"Thank you," he said descending the steps. "Oh food for thought," he said from the door. "When things are at their worst, that's usually when you need others the most. You can't always do everything by yourself." Rider let his words sink in as he left. He found the little dragon on the other side of the door. Rider used his head to flip him onto his back when the little guy tried to enter. The prince folded his wings around the little dragon to cage him on his back.

"What are you doing? I have to get to Twilight," Spike protested.

"Your friend will be fine," Rider assured him closing the door, "but she needs to rest right now." He continued down the stairs with the little dragon on his back despite the little guy's protest. As he reached the lower level, five ponies met him at the bottom steps.

"Everything okay?" Applejack asked with concern in voice.

"She'll be fine," he assured her. "She just wasn't used to food that spicy."

"I don't blame her," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "I hate spicy food. So is she coming back down?"

"Probably not," I said. "She doesn't strike me as a very social pony."

"Well that's no good," a white mare pouted. She had a purple mane swirled around itself on one side of her head, and her tail had a similar twist to it. Her eye lids were a light blue that complemented her darker blue eyes with long eye lashes. "How can you have a welcome to Ponyville party without the guest of honor?" There was a moment of pain and annoyance in Storm Rider's eyes. It hurt that his brother and him were so easily forgotten. The party had all but died. He needed something to reinvigorate this crowd, and he knew it wasn't him. Rider then got an idea.

"What are you talking about? Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration. We need to party all night long. Yo DJ, crank that beat." Pinkie Pie seemed to simply disappear from the base of the stairs and reappear behind the music station. As the music began to play, the party seemed to reignite. "Come on little guy. Get down with your bad self," Rider said as he bucked the dragon off. He landed on his feet on the table where he skidded to a stop. As the music filled his ears, the little guy started dancing.

Storm Rider hopped off the stairs and wondered over to the snacks station. Licking his lips, he poured some hot sauce on more cupcakes. As he gobbled them down, he noticed the glass of hot sauce Twilight had poured. Rider's eyes quickly scanned to see if anyone was looking before tossing the straw out of the cup. He made another quick scan before chugging down the whole cup. A burp welled up inside until it erupted from his mouth. Rider couldn't help but chuckle at the large burp. He quickly noticed he was the only one laughing at it. He tried talking to a few other ponies, but always seemed to drift back in to the shadows. With his crown everyone noticed him, but no one would go near him. Without his crown no one noticed him. Either way he was still alone.

The luster of the party was quickly dying for Storm Rider. He ended up just leaving. He sighed as he flew back to the cloud house more depressed that no one seemed to notice he left. He rifled through the cabinet until he found the peppers he had bought. He lounged on a chair and bit into a pepper. Heat built up inside until he literally breathed an emerald flame. He giggled as he popped the rest in his mouth. He amused himself breathing fire while he enjoyed the peppers. As Rider reached for the last pepper, a giant burp erupted from his mouth loud enough to be heard clear to the ground. Rider's eyes were watering partly from the peppers and partly from laughing at the large burp. His laughter was short lived as he was still alone. Even as he ate the last pepper and breathed fire, he couldn't seem to laugh. Noting was going to change unless he tried something different. Reluctantly he glided back down to the party. As he landed, he noticed ponies all heading for town hall. He had missed it. Before he walked away, he spied a particular purple unicorn exiting the library being followed by a little dragon. Storm Rider came alongside the unicorn.

"So did you have a good nap?" He asked Twilight.

"How could anypony get any rest with all that racket, and what is up with your breath?"

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I've been eating spicy food all night. So how are you feeling?"

"Other than the lack of sleep, I'm feeling better. Thanks for that, um…"

"It's Storm Rider."

"Really? Of all the names you could have picked, why did you pick that one?"

"It's my real name," he answered a little annoyed.

"I thought your name was Hurricane."

"It's more of a title. Honestly, I never really liked it. You seem down. Is something on your mind?"

"It's just something I read."

"Do tell."

"I read something that said Nightmare Moon might escape."

"Sounds serious. I would have tried to tell Princess Celestia."

"I tried, but she told me I shouldn't worry about old mare's tales and then sent me here to check on preparations for the festival. I was hoping to do some research just in case I was right."

"Hm. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Why?"

"Didn't Princess Celestia defeat Nightmare Moon and imprison her in the moon almost a thousand years ago?"

"Yes, she did. Legend says on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape."

"Well consider this. If that's true, Princess Celestia has had a thousand years to prepare. You really think she doesn't already have a plan in motion just in case?"

"Well maybe, but why did she tell me to stop worrying about old mare's tales?"

"I don't know, but Princess Celestia is very wise. She is also a force to be reckoned with. I wouldn't worry."

"I guess," she said as they took their place on the ground floor of a tall circular room. A few pegasi flapped their wings to keep themselves aloft. Banners hung from the ceiling. A few ponies gathered on a few balconies. Little Spike sat on Twilight's back for a better view. Pinkie Pie came up to them excited.

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? Cause I'm excited. I've never been so excited, well except for the time I saw you walking into town and I was like," Pinkie ranted pausing to gasp like she had done earlier that day before continuing, "but I mean really who could top that?" Twilight looked a little annoyed at Pinkie's joy. Rider struggled not to laugh. A choir of song birds singing drew everyone's attention. They were being conducted by Fluttershy. A spotlight shined on a brown mane. She had a grey mane with a white collar and half-moon glasses. She addressed the congregation.

"Fillies and gentle Colts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration," the mayor announced. The crowd of ponies cheered. "In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sun rise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year. And now it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land." Rider's ears dropped at the realization that Celestia was there. He slouched down hoping to blend into the crowd. The mayor continued, "the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia." The curtains opened to an empty balcony above the mayor.

"This can't be good," Twilight said with concern in her voice. Rider straighten back up his ear rising.

"Remain calm, everypony," the mayor assured the gathering despite the worry building in her own voice. "There must be a reasonable explanation."

"Ow, ow," Pinkie Pie began jumping up and down, "I love guessing games. Is she hiding?" After checking the back, the white mare that met Storm Rider at the base of the stairs came out and announced,

"She's gone." The crowd gasped in fear. Rider's ears dropped back as he steadied himself. Princess Celestia being missing was a bad sign.

"Ow, she's good," Pinkie Pie commented before letting out a scream. A cloud of blue mist formed on the empty balcony. A black alicorn mare emerged from the mist. She bore light purple armor and her blue mane and tail flowed with little white dots like pieces of the night sky. Her green eyes had slit pupils. On her flank was a dark purple blotch with a crescent moon on top.

"Oh, no," Twilight whispered, "Nightmare Moon." Poor Spike fainted at the sight of the imposing figure.

"Oh my beloved subjects," Nightmare Moon addressed the congregation, "it's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun loving faces."

"What did you do with our Princess?" Rainbow Dash yelled. She would have attacked if Applejack hadn't held her back, the tip of Dash's tail in her mouth. Storm Rider suppressed the urge to engage as well. Nightmare Moon simply laughed at her.

"Why am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Ow, ow," Pinkie Pie excitedly piped in, "more guessing games. Um Hokey Smoke? How about Queen Meanie? No Black Snuddy, Black Snuddy." She would have continues if Applejack hadn't shoved a cupcake in her mouth.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" Nightmare Moon continued ignoring Pinkie's interruption. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" She asked using her mane to stroke the chin of the white mare on the balcony.

"I did," Twilight spoke up, "and I know who you are. You're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon." The crowd gasped at this revelation, except for Storm Rider who stood his ground. Dash also continued to struggle while Applejack held her back.

"Well, well, well," Nightmare Moon almost complimented, "Some pony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to…to," Twilight swallowed hard unable to bring herself to finish her sentence.

"Yes, oh," Nightmare Moon said as her attention was drawn to Rider, "and what's this?" She descended towards Storm Rider. He held his ground while other ponies slinked back a little. "What a handsome stallion, such intense eyes, strong back, and regal demeanor. I could use a stallion like you at my side," she said stroking his chin with her mane. Storm Rider suppressed his emotions to keep them from showing and held his ground. She got close to his face and whispered, "Join me." Rider breathed in deep and burped in her face aiming at her eyes. She rubbed her watery eyes as she flew back to the balcony still facing him. She looked at Storm Rider enraged. "Impertinent peasant," she screamed. "Thou shall pay thin impudence."

"Please, put it on my tab," he said with a sly grin his hard eyes still meeting her gaze. Nightmare Moon composed herself before addressing the audience.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever." She let out an evil laugh as mist swirled above her and lightning cracked around her.

"Seize her," the mayor screamed, "only she knows where the Princess is." Three white pegasi garbed in gold armor, royal guards, took flight to take down Nightmare Moon. As they got close, Nightmare Moon shouted at them,

"Stand back you, foals." Her eyes glowed as a lightning bolt struck each guard. Rider turned around and flapped his wings. Secretly he used his magic to cause a whirlwind to cushion their landing. Nightmare Moon laughed as she became a stream of mist and burst out the door. Applejack finally lost her grip on Rainbow Dash who took up chase after Nightmare Moon. Twilight Sparkle scooped up Spike onto her back and ran from the hall. Storm Rider stayed on her heels as she made a beeline for the library. She proceeded up to the loft to put Spike to bed. She came back down to join Rider as they tore through the library.

"Elements, elements, elements," Twilight groaned as she pulled book after book to her. Rider had to dodge to avoid being hit by a couple of the books as he scanned the shelves. "How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?"

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash interrogated getting in Twilight's face. Rider quick ran a hoof through his mane to make sure his horn was hidden. He had been too busy dodging and scanning to notice Dash and the others enter the library. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Huh?" Twilight slowly retreated back from Dash's questioning. "Are you a spy?" Her last question was almost cut off as Applejack pulled Dash back by her tail.

"Simmer down, Sally," Applejack told Rainbow Dash. "She an't no spy, but sure knows what's goin' on, don't you, Twilight?"

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon," Twilight began telling the small group of ponies. It was the same group that had met Rider at the base of the stairs earlier. "Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only thing that can stop her. But I don't know what they are, where to find them. I don't even know what they do." Panic and stress was evident in her voice.

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," Pinkie read aloud looking at one of the bookcases.

"How did you find that?" Twilight asked bumping Pinkie pie aside.

"It was under 'E'," Pinkie Pie almost sang bouncing about. Storm Rider suppressed a chuckle.

"Oh," Twilight said a little annoyed she over looked something so small. She picked up the book with her magic and read aloud. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now the EVERFREE FOREST."


	5. Chapter 5

The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 5

Episode 2.3: The Trials of Harmony

As the seven of them approached the edge of the forest, Rider could almost taste the fear from the others, well, all except Pinkie Pie.

"Let's go," Pinkie cheered as she started to enter the forest.

"Not so fast," Twilight instructed. "Look. I appreciate the offer, but I really rather do this on my own."

"No can do, sugar cube," Applejack countered as Rider and the others began entering the forest. "We sure an't letting any friend of ours go in that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

"Especially if there's candy apples in there," Pinkie added in. "What? Those things are good." Twilight simply groaned and entered as well. As they proceeded through the trees, Rider continued to scan his surroundings. He did this partly to keep an eye out for danger and partly to take in his inspiring new sites. He was in awe of the forest. Noticing Rider looking around, Pinkie Pie asked him, "What are you looking at?"

"This forest," Rider said a little in awe. "I've never seen anything like it. Very little is really known about it, and what is known is kind of vague. I never thought I'd get a chance to see it.

"I have a question," Rarity chimed in. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"His name is Storm Rider," Pinkie answered before he could say anything. "He and his brother moved to Ponyville just before Twilight did." Rider put his wing in her mouth to stop her from talking.

"Thanks you for the introduction, Pinkie. I had met all of you in one form or another. Miss Pricy is the only one I didn't get a name to."

"Her name is Rarity," Pinkie Pie said before Rarity could answer. "She runs and makes the dresses for the local boutique. Great now we're all friends." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't get ahead of yourself," Rider said returning to his scanning. "We know each other, but friendship doesn't come that easily." He then added under his breathe, "Well for me it doesn't." He then addressed the others, "To answer your other question, I never liked sitting on the sidelines while others were in danger and there was something I could do. With my reason to hold back gone, I'm finally free to do as I please. Beside Twilight is the closest thing I have to a friend, I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if she got hurt and I did nothing. Not only that, opportunities like this don't happen every day. Only a fool would pass this up. Now this is a real adventure."

"Are you sure it wasn't for the mares?" Rarity said fixing her mane.

"Gee, empty admiration and praise, you can keep that. Trust me. I've seen enough of that to last an alicorn lifetime." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Well if you're not in it for the mares, then, just say so. You certainly haven't taken note of the mares around you"

"Well excuse me, princess," Rider said in a mocking tone turning on Rarity. His emerald eyes appeared to have darkened as he loomed over her. "Sorry for having the discipline to stay focused on the task at hoof. There isn't much known about the Everfree Forest. What is mentioned is a large number of creatures that not only eat ponies, but kill them in some of the most horrible ways. Is now really the time to be distracted at all?"

"So do you like mares?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Rider then added under his breathe, "it's just hard finding mares who honestly like me." Raising his voice, he continued, "So how about we stay on track." Rider snorted at Rarity and walked back to the front of the procession. They continued forward in silence. The girls' fear was building as they proceeded. It was hard to tell if they were afraid of the forest or Rider. Twilight was the first to break the silence.

"So none of you have been in here before?" Twilight asked with fear still in her voice.

"Heaven's no," Rarity answered. "Just look at it. It's dreadful." The fear was definite in her voice. Rarity eyed Storm Rider and wondered if she was talking about the forest or him.

"And it an't natural," Applejack added in. "Folks say it don't work the same as Equestia."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked, her fear growing.

"No pony knows," Dash said in a spooky voice. "You know why?" She asked as she stalked toward her friends.

"Rainbow, quit it," Applejack scolded. Storm Rider rolled my eyes. Ignoring Applejack, she continued,

"Cause every pony who's ever come in has never come out." No sooner than she said that, the ground gave way beneath them. The three flyers took to the air as the others slid toward a sheer drop off. "Quick!"

The three flyers moved in to help. As Storm Rider went to help Twilight, he looked back up to see debris following them down. He flipped back around and pounced on a large rock from the side that was aimed at Rarity. Using his momentum, the boulder was deflected off course as he pounced on a second one aimed at Applejack. Rainbow Dash picked up Pinkie Pie as a small boulder flew at them. Rider flapped his wings hard to cause a gust of wind. The gust deflected the rock from hitting them. Fluttershy grabbed Rarity by the tail as another rock came down toward them. Rider flapped his wings again to cause another gust to knock the rock off course. Applejack managed to grab a small root by her teeth. Meanwhile Twilight slid to the drop off. She dangled on the edge with the threat of falling to her death.

"Hold on," Applejack called letting go of the root. "I'm a comin'," she assured gently sliding to Twilight to keep her from falling. The rocks continued to rain down. Rider landed behind AJ and began beating his wings. He wove small wind spells together. By using small spells, he easily performed them without revealing his horn. Using his wings, he could amplify the wind he created. He used the wind to create a shield to deflect the incoming rock slide.

"Applejack, what do I do?" Twilight pleaded.

"Storm, can ya get her?" Applejack asked him over her shoulder.

"There's too much coming down. If I move to save one, the rocks will get the other," Rider answered struggling under the strain to not only maintain his rhythm, but the spells as well. He was no novice to using magic or hiding magic. However, Storm Rider was finding it increasingly taxing to do both at the same time. Applejack paused before saying,

"Twilight, let go."

"Are you crazy?" Twilight asked.

"No I an't. I promise you'll be safe."

"That's not true," Twilight accused with fear growing in her voice.

"Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go and you'll be safe."

"If you're going to do something, I suggest you do it," Rider added between grunts. "I can't keep this up for much longer." Twilight let out a scream as she let go. "Twilight!" Her screams abruptly stopped. "Is she safe?"

"She's alright," AJ answered.

"Good," Rider said before giving one more powerful blast and scooping up Applejack. Her hat flew off, and he managed to grab it with his teeth as they narrowly missed the river of falling rocks. Storm Rider sighed with relief as he lowered to join the others who were waiting for them and set Applejack down.

"Thanks a lot, Storm," Applejack thanked as he placed her hat back on her head.

"No problem, and call me Rider," he said wiping the sweat from my brow and rolling my wings. He then called out, "Everypony here? Anypony hurt?" All six mumbled they were okay. "Good. Let's keep moving," he announced continuing on.

"Wait," Rarity called out. "You protected me. Why?" He stopped to answer over his shoulder.

"Three reason," Rider simply said. "One, I could and it was fun. Two, it was the right thing to do. Three, I want to make friends, so I might as well start somewhere." With a smirk, Twilight rolled her eyes. They continued their trek into the forest. Of course Rainbow Dash couldn't help bragging about her saves to Twilight.

"And once Pinkie and Rarity were safe, whoosh, me and Fluttershy hooked the loop around and, wham, caught you right in the nic of time."

"Yes, Rainbow, I was there, and I'm grateful. However, I also saw Storm Rider protecting all of us from the falling rocks."

"Yeah those were some pretty awesome moves," Dash admitted. "Why didn't you do anything against Nightmare Moon?"

"I did," Rider answered matter of fact.

"Excuse me, Darling," Rarity interjected, "but all you did was burp in her face."

"Exactly."

"How the hay in burpin' doin' somethin'?" Applejack asked.

"Because she was using shadow magic," he answered. The others looked at him confused. "Shadow magic is a form of dark magic," Rider explained. "Casters using shadow magic are very difficult to deal with. Physical attacks are all but useless. Those three royal guards tried, and we all saw how well that worked out. The only way a physical attack would work if one pony has their undivided attention. A second pony can then hit them from behind, but the caster can't see it coming. Twilight can vouch that I had pepper breath. When I burped, I, might as well, squirted pepper juice in her face. I also had her full attention."

"Never pegged you for an egghead," Dash commented.

"Just because you can't use it, doesn't mean you shouldn't learn about it. Knowledge is power. Besides, a strong body is useless without a strong mind to guide it"

"So ya set up for somepony ta hit her," Applejack added continuing Rider's train of thought. "If I had let Dash go, we could've got her."

"That might have worked, but I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. You didn't' know, nopony did. I was hoping one pony would catch on," Rider said thinking about his brother. He wondered where he was during all of this. "It's too late now, so we just have to press forward. Besides, the maneuver is extremely difficult. It takes two ponies working in perfect sync."

"And because nopony knew what you were doing, you're acts were in vain," Rarity finished.

"True, but I had to try something," he added. A menacing figure barded their pass. Noticing the looming figure, he asked, "Now what?" It looked like a lion yet had the ears and wings of a bat. It also had the tail of a scorpion.

"A manticore," Twilight gasped. "We have to get pass him." The manticore lunged forward and swiped with its right front paw. Rider pulled Rarity back to help her duck under the swipe. He spun forward bringing his hind hoof over his head and bringing it down on the manticore's skull. He then rolled back onto his hooves.

"Ha," Rarity cheered, "take that you ruffian." The manticore roared at her messing up her mane. "My hair," Rarity complained before running back. The manticore gave chase after her and ignored Storm Rider.

"Wait," Fluttershy said in a quiet voice. Applejack jumped on its back and rode it like a bucking bronco.

"Yeeha," Applejack cheered, "get along, little doggie." The manticore jumped about trying to throw Applejack.

"Wait," Fluttershy said again. The manticore finally dislodged Applejack.

"All yours, partner," Applejack casually told Dash as she flew through the air.

"I'm on it," Rainbow Dash saluted as she made her attack.

"Wait," Fluttershy's meager voice cried. Rainbow Dash circled the manticore at high speed. It was like a rainbow colored tornado surrounded it. The manticore swatted Dash away with its scorpion tail like she was a fly.

"Rainbow," Twilight cried. Dash landed near Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie. She got up and joined them as the five prepared to charge the manticore who stood its ground snorting at them.

'We're getting nowhere.' Rider thought. 'We're lucky it hasn't used its stinger yet. This doesn't make any sense. Manticores are fierce, but they're fairly docile unless provoked. They don't normally fight this hard. That solid hit should have scared it off. I need to stop this before somepony gets seriously hurt. Manticores only fight this hard when they're scared or…of course.' As the others charged forward, Rider landed between them and the manticore and flapped his wings at his friends. He caused a small gust to halt them.

"Wait!" Fluttershy screamed. She was hesitant for a moment when she noticed Rider protecting the manticore. Rider was a little surprised to hear Fluttershy yell like that. With a smile, he folded a wing to let her pass before unfolding his wing to block the others.

"Rider, what are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"Let her handle this," Rider answered. Ginger Heart said she was good with animals. Rider just hoped that included manticores. The others cringed for a second before I heard Fluttershy say,

"Shss, it's okay." Fluttershy nuzzled the manticore's left front paw. The manticore opened his paw to reveal a large thorn. The others' expression changed to one of confusion. "Oh you poor, poor little baby," she coed.

"Little?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Now this might hurt for just a second," Fluttershy comforted. The manticore roared.

"Fluttershy!" The girls cried. Rider immediately regretted his choice until he heard the manticore start purring. He folded his wings and turned around to see the manticore happily licking Fluttershy. As he trotted pass, he noticed the large thorn.

"Knew it," Rider said under his breath. He kicked it aside and continued through.

"Ah you're just a little old baby kitty, aren't you," Fluttershy babied. "Yes you are. Yes you are." The others passed by as Fluttershy pacified the big cat. Twilight waited for Fluttershy.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't," Fluttershy answered. "Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Twilight then caught up with Storm Rider.

"So how did you know about the thorn?"

"I didn't," Rider answered. "I had a theory, but there was no guarantee I was right. Remember. Knowledge is power. Plus, I knew Fluttershy was good with animals. I'm just thankful that included manticores. That I didn't know."

They continued forward on their trek. The mood had surprisingly lightened after their encounter with the manticore. As they marched on, Rarity let out a groan.

"My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck," she complained. No sooner did she complain the moon hid itself under a thick canopy. "Well I didn't mean that literally."

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces, and we wouldn't even know it," Twilight complained. The others began to argue. Rider was used to moving in almost total darkness. He developed the skill sneaking around the castle. His concentration was broken when Applejack announced,

"Oh wait. I think I stepped in somethin'." All of a sudden, Fluttershy screamed. "It's just mud," Applejack said before she noticed the scary creature in front of her. At that moment, she too yelled. It became apparent to all; they were surrounded by menacing creatures. Rider crouched down and readied himself for their attack, but they didn't attack. They weren't even moving. The girls started screaming while backing toward Rider. He straightened up and rubbed his ears from the pain of the high pitch screams. Over the deafening screams, Pinkie's giggles could be heard. Her laughter stopped the screams. Pinkie Pie even started making faces at one of the creatures.

"Pinkie," Twilight yelled, "What are you doing? Run!"

"Oh, girls, don't you see," Pinkie started singing. "When I was a little filly and the sun was going down."

"Tell me she's not," Twilight unbelievingly said.

"The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown." Pinkie kept singing.

"She is," Rarity answered.

"I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw," Pinkie sang as she bounced about. "But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all."

"Then what is?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"She said, Pinkie, you got to stand up tall. Learn to face our fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you. Just laugh to make them disappear, Ha, Ha, Ha." Pinkie simple laugh turned the menacing creatures into a normal tree. This caused the others to gasp. "So, giggle at the ghosty. Guffaws at the grossly. Crack up at the creepy. Whoop it up with the weepy. Chortle at the kooky. Snortle at the spooky." With each phrase, all of them started laughing. As their laughter grew, the scary faces started to disappear. "And tell that big dumb scary face to take hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna…," Pinkie laughed for a minute before continuing, "Laugh!" All the scary faces disappeared, and the forest even seemed brighter.

As they started forward, Storm Rider noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He fell silent and slowly back pedaled out of the group. The girls were so busy laughing; none of them seemed to notice he had slipped away. Yet again without his crown, nopony noticed him. It wasn't a very encouraging thought. As the girls moved out of sight, the darkness seemed to be moving forward even if Storm Rider stood still. Something about this seemed off to Rider, but he couldn't tell what. He flapped his wings to cause a gust. The darkness was actually pushed back. From the dark shadows sprouted multiple little red eyes. However, their eyes weren't focused on him, but on something behind him.

"If you want those mares," Rider said in a stern voice, "you're going to have to go through me." The good news was he got all of their attention. The bad news was he got all of their attention. With nopony around, it was pointless to keep hiding his horn. Tossing my head left and right, Rider's horn poked through my spiky mane. He charged his horn, and two katana formed from emerald energy. Rider tilted his head left and right popping his neck as he unfolded his wings. "Alright, uglies, show me what you got," he provoked.

The shadow creatures lunged at him. Rider took to the air swiping at the place where he was just standing. The blades of light sliced through two creatures which dissipated. A shadow creature attacked from both sides. Rider side rolled slicing both of them. He charged his horn and shot four small light spells from his horn at once. The four beams of green light struck the wall of shadows. Four more creatures dissipated. Rider soared up above the canopy. He spun back around slicing with each sword before sending out a small barrage of small light spells. A sea of shadow lurched at Storm Rider. He caused a gust of wind and dove into the flood of creatures. Rider went into a corkscrew drilling his way to the back of the horde. He skidded to a stop spinning back around to face the swarm before letting out a huge barrage of small light spells.

The creatures' ranks had been thinned, but their eyes glowed brighter out of pure hatred for the annoying stallion keeping them from their true prey. Their collective hatred allowed them to merge together. They desired only one thing: to kill the meddlesome pony. Rider looked on as the creatures mashed together growing larger and reaching above the canopy. Its body was so dense it was almost an inky black and a solid mass.

"Well," Rider said rolling his wings, "this just got interesting." He dashed forward as the lumbering creature smashed the ground where he stood. Rider evaded the second fist as he rushed for the creature's legs. He sliced at both legs as he past under the creature. He carved twin lines in the creature's back as Rider shot straight up in to the air. The Creature spun around back fisting Storm Rider. His energy swords shattered as he was sent flying. He concentrated and teleported himself on the opposite side of the creature. Rider formed a large and very wide broad sword from his magic again. Using the momentum of being hit, he sliced the opposite arm clean off. The creature roared as it reared up to punch at rider. Rider reverted the sword back into energy and fired multiple light spells as one large blast. The blast obliterated the creature's remaining arm. Rider rose up and dove straight down at the creature's head. He formed a green broad sword and used it to spearhead his attack. The blade pierced the creature splitting it in two as my sword sunk into the ground. Rider was panting as the two halves and his sword dissolved away. He surveyed the area until he spied one lingering shadow creature.

"Oh no, you don't." Rider yelled as he fired a light spell. The green beam struck the creature making it dissipate. His legs wobbled causing him to drop to his belly breathing heavily. "If I ever go back," Rider said between gasp, "I'm having General Steel Hoof add magical combat to my training regiment." Rider put his hoof over his eyes in pain as he rose. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to have a serious headache tomorrow in addition to extremely sore muscles. No time to feel sorry for myself," he said as he stood on shaky legs, "I've got to catch up with the girls."

Rider struggled forward on shaky leg. He was grateful when he came across a stream and immediately began gulping down water. Rider felt his strength return. He never understood why he recovered so fast. He was still going to be really sore the next day, but he could press on.

It was then that he noticed a sea serpent splashing in the water and enjoying his reflection. Oddly enough, Rider's first thought was wondering if he was up river of it. It had purple scales and quaff light brown hair with a long moustache. As he studied the serpent, Rider noticed purple hairs done in a familiar twist. Fearing the worst, Rider rushed at the serpent. He skidded to a stop in mid-air as he noticed the hairs were not coming from in his mouth but on his lip.

"Oh," the serpent exclaimed, "well aren't you a fast one."

"Yeah," Rider said a little embarrassed. "I was just noticing your moustache."

"Do you like it? This nice pony fixed it after some rapscallion cut half of it off."

"This pony didn't happen to be a mare with five others?"

"Oh, why yes. She was an absolutely gorgeous white mare, and her five friends were simple adorable. It was like a little rainbow."

"Right, you didn't happen to see which way they went, did you?"

"Oh but of course, they took that path right there," the serpent said pointing to a path on the opposite side of the stream from where Rider had come.

"Thanks. Um, nice moustache," Rider added before heading down the path.

"Oh why thank you. Such nice ponies," the serpent called after. Rider flew down the path until he found five of them waiting by a cliff. He took note that Rarity's tail had been cut very short. Rider hide his horn as he landed and trotted up to the others. He arrived in time for Rainbow Dash to emerge from the fog and pose for her friends. As the fog cleared, a rope bridge appeared leading across a chasm to the ruins of a castle. The others cheered for their pegasus friend.

"See, I'd never leave my friend hanging," Rainbow Dash replied. She then noticed Rider. "Hey, Rider, where did you go?"

"What do you mean?" He asked keeping his cool.

"You were there and then you weren't."

"Wow," he said taken back a little. "I didn't think anypony would notice," he then added under his breath, "nopony ever does." He then said in a normal voice, "I just saw something I wanted to check out."

"Are you sure you just didn't get scared when you saw that sea serpent?"

"Actually my first thought was wondering if I was upriver of him," Rider answered.

"Sure it was," Dash said with a small laugh. As the group entered the ruins, they immediately found a stone pedestal with smaller pedestals branching off holding up five stone orbs with a single jewel impression in each.

"Wow," Twilight said in awe.

"Come on, Twilight," Applejack encouraged. "Isn't this what you been waiting for?"

"The Elements of Harmony, we found them," Twilight commented still in awe. The three flyers removed the five orbs from the pedestals and placed them next to Twilight on the ground.

"Careful, careful," Twilight instructed.

"One, two, three, four," Pinkie Pie counted. "There's only five."

"Where's the sixth?" Dash asked.

"The book said, 'when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed,'" Twilight answered.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked a little annoyed.

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea," Twilight said with confidence. "Stand back. I don't know what will happen."

"Come on now, y'all," Applejack instructed the rest of us. "She needs to concentrate." They filed back out the door. As they waited, they heard Twilight cry out.

"Twilight," the girls cried in unison. They looked back to see the elements caught in a purple tornado. Rider rushed forward to help.

"The elements," Twilight said with concern as she jumped into the vortex. The swirl quickly shrank down. Rider dove for the vortex only to have it vanish before he could get to it. He was moving so fast he crashed into the pedestal. Panic grew within the girls. Rider got up with a groan. The girls were in a panic frantically searching the room for Twilight.

"Twilight, where are you?" Applejack asked with great concern.

"Look," Rarity exclaimed pointing out the window. Another section of the castle had light pouring out of every crack.

"Come on," Applejack instructed. Rider shook the stupor out of him and led the charge. As they raced to the other section of the castle, concern grew in Rider. Twilight was in danger. He couldn't hold back anymore. He switched to flying and zoomed ahead of the others. He entered the chamber and landed between Twilight and Nightmare Moon. He was shocked when he saw the broken shards of the elements.

"Rider?" Twilight said a little surprised. The others called to Twilight to let her know they were coming. "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that," Twilight said as the others entered, "Well you're wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here." Shards of what was left of the Elements of Harmony began to glow and lift off the ground. "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of honesty." A few of the shards began circling Applejack. "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness." Shards began circling Fluttershy despite her trying to avoid them. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter." Pinkie Pie had shards circling her as well. "Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of generosity." Shards swirled around Rarity as well. "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of loyalty." Finally Rainbow Dash had shards around her as well. "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."

"You still don't have the sixth element," Nightmare Moon countered with concern growing in her voice. "The spark didn't work."

"But it did," Twilight corrected, "a different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you," she told her friends, "all of you," she added over her shoulder at Rider. "The spark ignited inside me when I realized you all are my friends." A sixth orbed appeared and floated down to rest above Twilight's head. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when these elements are ignited by the …spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element, the element of magic." A bright light emitted from the girls.

"No," Nightmare Moon cried. "I won't be beaten again." Nightmare Moon began charging her horn. Since his spells were smaller, it was easy to set them off before she could. Rider flapped his wings and blasted a gust of wind at her face. The wind broke her concentration. "How dare you, you insolate foal." She charged her horn again. Rider answered with another wing blast. "You think you can defeat me?" A rainbow shot out from behind him and struck at Nightmare Moon's hooves. "No," Nightmare Moon cried as she was encased in a rainbow colored vortex. Rider covered his eyes as the room was bathed in a bright white light. As the light faded, Rider found the girls lying on the ground each with a gold necklace around their neck and a tiara on Twilight's head.

"Well, that was different," Rider simply said.

"My head," Dash groaned.

"Everypony okay," Applejack asked.

"Oh thank goodness," Rarity exclaimed. Rider looked over to see Rarity's tail had grown back.

"Why, Rarity, it's so lovely," Fluttershy complemented.

"I know. I'll never part with it again," Rarity said fawning over her tail.

"No, your necklace," she corrected. "It looks just like your cutie mark."

"So do yours," Rarity pointed out.

"Look at mine. Look at mine," Pinkie Pie exclaimed bouncing about.

"Ah, yeah," Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"So what was that about friendship not saving Equestria from something horrible?" Rider asked as he helped Twilight up who blushed a little.

"Jee, Twilight," Applejack said. "I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of whooy, but I recon we really do represent the elements of friendship."

"In deed you do," the voice of a mature woman spoke. The sun rose above the horizon. An orb of light drifted down from the sun into the chamber. From the ray of light, a white alicorn mare emerged with a flowing mane and tail in a ribbon of blue, green, purple, and pink. A gold crown rested on her head and a gold necklace sat around her neck. She was twice as big as any of the girls. Her purple eyes shone with gentleness and wisdom. The girls bowed their heads leaving their flanks in the air. Rider bowed his head deeply hoping he wouldn't be noticed.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight said in admiration walking up to the large mare.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student," the princess greeted. "I knew you could it."

"But you told me it was all an old pony tale," Twilight questioned.

"I told you, you need to make friends, nothing more," Celestia corrected. "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her." The others began to rise from their bows. "But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart, now if only another will as well, Princess Luna." A blue alicorn mare laid where Nightmare Moon once stood with blue shards around her. Her mane was a lighter shade than her coat which supported a small blue crown. She jolted awake at the mention of the name. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this," she said as she approached and knelt next to the smaller alicorn. "Time to put our differences behind us, we were meant to rule together, little sister."

"Sister?" Twilight asked surprised.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked rising to her hooves. The others leaned forward waiting for her reply. Pinkie leaned so far she fell over.

"I'm so sorry," Luna finally answered with tears in her eyes. "I missed you so much, big sister."

"I've missed you too," Celestia replied with tears of joy. Pinkie Pie had a hanky and was crying streams of joy.

"Hey," Pinkie exclaimed abruptly stopping her tear, "do you know what this calls for? A party!" As if Pinkie had planned for it upon their arrival back town, a big celebration was under way to welcome back both princesses. The princesses rode in on a gold open carriage drawn by four white pegasi in gold armor. Spike rushed to greet Twilight. The citizens bowed in respect to their rulers. A pair of pegasi foals hung a ring of flowers around Luna's neck.

"Why so glum, my faithful student?" Celestia asked Twilight. "Are you not happy you quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"

"That's just it," Twilight replied. "Just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them."

"Spike, take a note please," Celestia instructed. Spike produced a scroll and quill and began dictating. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," Twilight gratefully thanked as her new friends gathered around her. "I'll study harder than ever before." The town cheered.

"Storm Rider," Princess Celestia then addressed, "may I have a word with you?"

"As you wish, Princess," Rider said as she led me away. Once away from prying ears, she continued,

"Tell me. What are the princes of the Strom Empire doing in a small town outside of Canterlot?"

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"Your glamor spell is good, but there is a better one my library. There's even a better one in the Ponyville library. Do not miss understand, I am grateful for the aid you gave my student and her friends. However I must know why the two of you are here." Rider sighed defeated realizing she not only knew about him but his brother as well.

"Well we kind of…ran away from home." Celestia raised an eye brow.

"Your father does not know you are here."

"Nopony back home does."

"So what made you leave?"

"It was more my brother's idea. I don't fully understand his reasons, but he mentioned coming here to start over. I didn't have any friends, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Plus, I'm not really enthusiastic about my destiny anymore," He added looking at his cutie mark. "A skull and flames, even green flames, symbolize death and destruction."

"Yes, being a child of World Strom is a great burden."

"World Strom?"

"It is your father's name. Just as you are known as Princes Hurricane, your father is King Monsoon, but those are not your real names."

"Why is that?"

"The first king of the Storm Empire caused so much destruction that yielded new life; he was like a monsoon that had washed over the land. In addition, the first crown prince was so powerful; many regarded him as a walking hurricane. Thus they were dubbed King Monsoon and Prince Hurricane. The names were used by every king and crown prince ever since."

"I never knew."

"There are few who do. As for your destiny, the symbol in your cutie mark, do you know what it means?"

"Can't say I do," Rider said checking the symbol. It was a green ring with a bar on opposite ends of the skull that sat within the ring. The whole symbol was surrounded by a black flame lined in green. "I've checked many books, but I've never found a match."

"Well in Equestria, it is an ancient symbol for hope or life. When it was green, it meant new hope or new life." Rider stared at his cutie mark pondering the possible meaning. "As far as your brother, his fears are not completely unfounded. There are some that question if he really is a child of World Storm."

"Mother would never. Father is a little rough, but she loves him."

"Indeed she does, but she is still to blame," Celestia clarified. "You see, she was not born an alicorn. She was a pegasus."

"So that's why Light's a pegasus."

"Precisely, now there is still the matter of you running away from home. I should tell your father where you are." There was a pleading look in Rider's eyes. "But I believe you would also benefit from studying the magic of friendship. We can say you were doing some foreign studies. You may take your lessons from my castle in Canterlot, as my guest of course."

"I appreciate that, your highness, but too many would know me there. It wouldn't be much different than being home."

"Very well, then you will stay here in Ponyville at the library with Twilight. You will do this so Twilight can account for where you are and because you both will be studying the magic of friendship. There is one more thing. I fear Twilight's trials have only just begun. I would ask that you watch out for her, but I must also advise against any inappropriate behavior with my student. The repercussions would have to be severe." Rider swallowed hard.

"Understood," Rider answered. "Do I have your permission to take my leave? I need to lay down. That adventure really took it out of me."

"How are you tired but not any of the girls?"

"Faced some shadow creatures in the forest. I also found using magic and hiding magic at the same time rather taxing." Celestia thought for a moment.

"Very well, but be on your best behavior." Rider swallowed hard again.

"Yes, Princess Celestia," Rider said as he limped away.

"Your destiny may not be with Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said after Rider was out of ear shot. Looking at Twilight's new friends, she then added, "but the one who is might be closer than you think."


End file.
